“Gujarat High Court approves pregnancy termination for minor rape survivor, issues guidelines for the medical board to consider while forming an opinion on abortions.”
November 12, 2024 2025-03-02 0:33“Gujarat High Court approves pregnancy termination for minor rape survivor, issues guidelines for the medical board to consider while forming an opinion on abortions.”
“Gujarat High Court approves pregnancy termination for minor rape survivor, issues guidelines for the medical board to consider while forming an opinion on abortions.”
By Himabindu Lingala
The petitioner approached the High Court praying for permission for termination of over 24 week pregnancy of his minor child which had resulted from rape. The court directed a medical examination of the victim. The medical reports stressed that although continuation of pregnancy at 24 weeks was advisable due to risks associated with termination, these risks outweigh the substantial harm that the continuation of the pregnancy would cause to the victim’s physical and mental well-being, as well as the lifelong social stigma she would endure.
The court referred to Section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, that states that “where pregnancy is alleged to have been caused by rape, the anguish caused by such pregnancy shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of pregnant woman.” (Explanation 2 – Section 3 – MTP Act).
The High Court also relied on the case (Mother of X) v. State of Maharashtra, (2024) 6 SCC 327. In this case, the Supreme Court authorized the termination of pregnancy for the minor girl, whose pregnancy had reached 29.6 weeks.
The court considered the affidavit submitted by the petitioner in which the minor victim girl has consented to terminate the pregnancy, the medical report and remarked that the victim has right to choice and authority over her reproductive rights and her opinion has to be given precedence.
Considering the facts, the age, the consent and medical reports of the victim the High Court allowed the termination of pregnancy.
Further, issued the below guidelines for medical practitioner/medical board to consider when forming an opinion on termination of pregnancy:
(i) The registered medical practitioner/medical board must not restrict its opinion to the criteria under Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, but must also evaluate the physical and emotional well-being of the pregnant person.
(ii) The registered medical practitioner / medical board must state in their report whether continuing the pregnancy to full term would affect the physical and mental health of the victim/minor/pregnant person.
(iii) The registered medical practitioner / medical board should also determine if the pregnancy can be safely terminated at this stage without harm to the pregnant person.
Case Name: XYZ Through Her Father v. State of Gujarat and others
Citation: 2024 SCC OnLine Guj 4042
